The best blonde hair colour for every skin tone

Ah, the endless pursuit of the perfect blonde. Finding the hue that best suits you isn’t always easy, and considering that only about two percent of the population are naturally blonde, most of the fair-headed among us are clocking in major time in the salon to achieve it. Hey, if we’re going to do it, we better do it well.

RELATED: 5 ways to maintain bleached blonde hair

But what do we ask for? Apparently, there’s more to it than just bringing in a picture of Gisele’s tortoiseshell mane or Lara Bingle’s buttery locks – if you want to really rock blonde, your shade needs to complement your skin tone. “Sometimes we chase blondes that are never achievable, or are not the correct blonde tone to suit us, because we’ve seen it on a celebrity and love the colour of their locks, we think it’ll suit us, too,” says Wella Colourist, blonde virtuoso and owner of Uva Salon Maria Uva.

Blondes (and blondes-to-be), start taking notes…

FINDING YOUR PERFECT TONE

Maria says the first thing you need to figure out is whether your skin is warm, cool or neutral toned – this will determine which blonde tones will work best for you, and which ones you should avoid. To work out your tone, look at the colour of the veins on the inside of your wrist. If they’re mostly blue and purple, you’re cool toned, and if they’re green, you have warm undertones. If you have a mix of both, you’re neutral toned, which means you can explore more blonde hues than most.  

Check out some of our favourite blondes in the gallery below….

Lara Bingle

Jessica Hart

Margot Robbie

Kate Hudson

Diane Kruger

Sienna Miller

Michelle Williams

Kate Bosworth

Lauren Conrad

Poppy Delevingne

Amber Heard

Kate Moss

Amanda Seyfried

Reese Witherspoon

IF YOU HAVE A WARM SKIN TONE Golden strands, rich honey hues and buttery shades complement warmer skin tones – think Rosie Huntington Whiteley or Jessica Hart. These hues are the perfect way to go lighter and give your hair some dimension without committing to monthly salon visits. Plus, that quintessential Australian beach babe look is perfect against sun-kissed skin. If you want to soften the colour up, blend in creamy tones and add a little balayage to the ends. bh tip: Restore vibrancy and tonal dimension with the John Frieda Colour Refreshing Toner, an at-home hair treatment that refreshes hair colour, counteracts fading, neutralises colour change and corrects dull, washed-out colour. Another must for any blonde is the Bumble & Bumble Prêt-à-Powder, a white pigment powder that absorbs oil and works as an all-in-one volumiser, style extender and dry shampoo. IF YOU HAVE A COOL SKIN TONE From platinum blonde to golden highlights, creamy, buttery shades suit cooler, pinker skin undertones. The cooler your tone, the lighter you can go with your hair. For the fair-skinned and adventurous, all-over platinum is daring, but incredibly striking. Not everyone can pull off platinum or ash blonde – while it brings out the rosy undertones in cool skin, it accentuates the yellow in warmer skin tones, so embrace it! The bonus? It makes such a statement, you can pare back your make-up. bh tip: Took the plunge and went platinum but it really wasn’t for you? Easy fix! ColourB4 Frequent Use will help you safely and effectively remove unwanted hair colour, so you can go back to you buttery blonde beautifulness in no time.    bh tip: Keep your locks alive with Shu Uemura Color Lustre in cool blonde, a reviving balm specifically formulated for cool and platinum blondes. If you start to see a brassy tinge, banish it with O&M Conquer Blonde Shampoo or Provoke: Touch of Silver Brightening Shampoo. MAINTENANCE RULES “Try and get your hair coloured every five to six weeks to maintain the integrity of the hair,” says Maria. It’s also really important to “to treat the hair in between visits and to be realistic with the blonde that you can achieve”. Remember, your colour is only going to be as good as the condition of your locks. Platinum blonde damages hair more than a few caramel highlights will, so consider a shorter style. We love: Wella Colour Save Shampoo, PPS Aroma D Fuse Shampoo, BedHead Dumb Blonde Violet Toning shampoo, Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo for Beautiful Colour, Kevin Murphy Blonde Angel Rinse Are you blonde? What’s your skin tone, and how do you maintain your gorgeous colour?